Is 2019 the Year of the Chatbot?

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The Chatbot: The Web’s Most Powerful UX Tool of 2019

A chatbot is an automated piece of software that uses artificial intelligence to interact with customers. Chatbots save both businesses and customers a considerable amount of time in both dispensing and gathering information. When used correctly, chatbots allow users to retrieve answers faster than interacting with a customer service agent.

By using chatbots, companies attempt to assign degrees of urgency to inquiries, so that by the time a customer speaks with an agent, the chatbot has diagnosed the problem and narrowed down the possible issues or solutions. This approach drastically reduces the amount of time that an agent spends with a single customer.

Chatbots provide a cost-effective way for entire companies to save time and effort in helping customers with inquiries or issues. A prime example of how companies are capitalizing on chatbot use can be found in the financial industry. For instance, a customer can use a bank or financial company app to access account information or get answers to quick questions without picking up the phone.

Since many companies such as banks do not have the personnel available to handle high-volume traffic, a chatbot can reduce the workload while assisting customers to a high level of satisfaction. Thus, the trend toward using chatbots has extended to almost every platform such as apps, smart devices, computers, and websites.

Do Chatbots Solve the Automated Phone Dilemma?

Customers have been vocal for years about their frustration with automated phone systems. While these systems are designed to assist customers and get them quick answers, there are still four challenges that they have not overcome:

Their function is still misunderstood. Customers still do not understand why they must talk to a ‘machine’.

They are still incredibly challenging to navigate. Some companies have not yet mastered reducing the number of steps a caller must take to find an answer to their questions.

They still do no instill customer confidence. Customers still feel better after speaking to a live agent.

Chatbots still have yet to solve complex issues or in-depth customer issues.

While companies claim that automated customer service lines are essentially chatbots, customers have yet to fully embrace the technology due to the challenges mentioned above. While chatbots have improved remarkably, they still have difficulty directing callers to the right company departments or providing the appropriate answers to customer questions.

However, even with these challenges, companies continue to move forward with using the technology. For instance, companies are championing the use of the chatbots by eliminating the option for callers to press ‘0’ to access an operator directly. The chatbot has transformed from being the primary problem-solver, so to speak, to the only means by which customers can find solutions to issues.

Do Chatbots Save Companies Money?

Banking experts project that the banking & finance industry will save $7.3 billion by 2023 by replacing human customer service agents with chatbots. The significant savings have become an incentive for banks to recondition their customers to communicate with chatbots and automated systems instead of a live person.

Banks are also experimenting with automated tellers and ATMs that are designed to replace real tellers. This development comes in lieu of recent practices that include charging customers fees for interacting with human tellers. The underlying objective is to reduce real tellers, thus saving companies even more money in staffing costs.

Using Chatbots for Content Marketing

Companies that are in the process of renovating their websites are in the perfect position to incorporate chatbots into their current online platform design. A Salinas CA IT Services Company can help companies make websites more attractive to users who like interactive platforms.

Whereas callers would prefer speaking with a live agent on the phone, quite the opposite is true for online visitors. In an online platform, users prefer to utilize the chatbot so that they don’t have to get on the phone and speak with a live agent.

Chatbots are also a useful tool for analytics. Companies can observe how users interact with their website, what pages they are visiting, and what UX challenges they need to overcome. They also know which media tools to invest in and how to reframe their platform.

Salinas CA IT Services Company

Alvarez Technology Group provides IT support to small and midsize businesses. We focus on managing devices and networks to help our clients achieve their business goals.

If you need top-tier IT support available in Salinas, Monterey County, Santa Cruz County & San Benito County, then contact Alvarez Technology Group at (831) 753 -7677 or send us an email at info@alvareztg.com today.